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The purpose of this biobehavioral pain research program announcement is to inform the scientific community of the interests of the various institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to stimulate and foster a wide range of basic and clinical studies on pain as they relate to the missions of these Institutes. Applications are encouraged to study individual differences in pain responses which may be due to factors such as genetic differences, endocrine activity, neural activity, immune function, psychological state, disability state, age, gender, and cultural background. Research is also needed in areas such as understanding the neuroanatomical pathways and the neurophysiological mechanisms in pain. The pain experience needs to be examined at all levels of research including the gene, molecule, cell, organ, and individual with the goal of developing biobehavioral interventions to manage or prevent pain.

The Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (MRSDA) is for research scientists who need an additional period of sponsored research experience as a way to gain expertise in a research area new to the candidate or in an area that would demonstrably enhance the candidate's scientific career. It is expected that following this experience, the candidate will be able to pursue an independent and productive research career.

The purpose of the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award MCSDA is to support the development of outstanding clinician research scientists. This mechanism provides specialized study for clinically trained professionals who are committed to a career in research and have the potential to develop into independent investigators. The award supports a three, four, or five year period of supervised research experience that may integrate didactic studies with laboratory or clinically-based research. The proposed research should have both intrinsic research importance and be a suitable vehicle for learning the methodology, theories, and conceptualizations necessary for a well trained independent researcher.

The Division of AIDS (DAIDS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), solicits applications on the discovery, preclinical efficacy evaluation, and development of novel agents and strategies that suppress HIV replication, interfere with disease progression, and ameliorate the consequences of infection. Responsive applications will involve creative and original research that emphasizes under- exploited facets of HIV infection. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) solicits grant applications directed toward identifying the mechanisms underlying the cognitive and behavioral changes associated with HIV infection. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) solicits grant applications directed toward studies on the neurological complications of HIV infection. Both institutes seek grant applications investigating potential CNS-targeted drug therapies that prevent or alleviate CNS dysfunction. Under this PA, applications in the following areas are not being solicited: (1) anti-viral agents and therapeutic strategies currently under intense investigation, (2) clinical studies, (3) studies of AIDS- related malignancies, and (4) studies of AIDS-associated opportunistic pathogens. Support under this PA will be provided to inter-related research consortia that include the private sector as one of its Group components. Applications funded in response to this PA will become part of the NCDDG-HIV.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitative Research (NCMRR) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announce the issuance of a program announcement to notify the scientific community of their interest in the submission of research grant applications concerning syringomyelia.

Sleep disturbances affect a wide range of age groups and practically every segment of society is profoundly affected by the absence of healthful patterns of sleep and wakefulness. It is now apparent that sleep disorders, disturbances of sleep, and sleep deprivation are major public health concerns. Recent estimates suggest that as many as 40 million people may suffer from chronic or intermittent disorders of sleep. Many of these people remain undiagnosed and untreated, the consequences of which include reduced productivity, lowered cognitive performance, increased likelihood of accidents, higher risk of morbidity and mortality and decreased quality of life.

The Human Learning and Behavior Branch (HLB) of the Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC) of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Developmental Neurology Branch (DNB) of the Division of Convulsive, Developmental, and Neuromuscular Disorders (DCDND) of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invite research grant applications to develop new knowledge in the areas of definition, classification, epidemiology, prevention (and preventive strategies), early intervention, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of children who display learning disabilities (LD) in component oral language abilities (phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, pragmatics), reading (word attack skills, word recognition skills, reading comprehension), written expression abilities (spelling, composition), and mathematics (basic calculation skills, mathematical reasoning), and combinations and relationships among them (e.g., combined deficits in phonology, word attack skills, spelling behavior and mathematics). An emphasis should also be placed on identifying the distinctions and interrelationships (comorbidities) between well defined types of learning disabilities and other well defined disorders to include disorders of attention, oppositional/conduct disorders, genetic disorders affecting learning (e.g., Fragile X syndrome, Asperger"s syndrome, etc.). In addition, of significant interest are longitudinal studies of treatment effectiveness with children with LD who are well defined in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, SES, primary LD, comorbid LD, severity of disability, intensity and duration of any previous intervention(s), familial and/or genetic findings, intellectual status, cognitive-linguistic status, neuropsychological status, neurophysiological status, educational status, and social/behavioral competencies.

This request for applications (RFA) is designed to encourage research grant applications focusing on mechanisms (primarily molecular and genetic mechanisms) that underlie nutrient modulation of cellular repair processes and maintenance of cellular integrity. Research should be aimed at the normal processes involved in the effects of specific nutrients or their metabolites on cellular, genetic, and metabolic functions, as well as elucidation of defective mechanisms. This initiative should offer unique opportunities afforded by the basic sciences and new technologies (e.g., molecular biology, NMR, ESR, PET) to enrich nutrition science. Nutrition science supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) includes studies designed to assess the consequences of food or nutrient intake, utilization in the intact organism, and the metabolic and behavioral mechanisms involved. Further support is needed for studies of nutrient variables at the cellular and subcellular levels; elucidation of the metabolic functions of nutrients in both animal models and humans; examination of genetic-nutrient-environmental interactions; and ultimately, studies of the role of diet in the maintenance of health, and the prevention and treatment of disease.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announce a continuing interest in supporting ground-based studies of sensorimotor adaptation and multisensory integration focusing on such functions as posture, gait, and other limb and body spatially directed movements, in health, in disease, and in special gravito-inertial environments.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) encourage the submission of research grant applications to investigate the potential for gene therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Responses to this program announcement may include studies in appropriate animal models of gene replacement using viral vectors, myoblast transfer, or other means of dystrophin enhancement.